BALTIMORE, MD (September 25, 2008) – Attorney General Douglas
F. Gansler today announced the filing of a lawsuit on behalf of
the Critical Area Commission against Daryl C. Wagner and his corporation,
DCW Dutchship Island, LLC. The complaint, filed in the Circuit
Court for Anne Arundel County, describes violations of Maryland’s
Critical Area law for illegal building and construction in the
Critical Area buffer on Little Dobbins Island in the Magothy River,
Anne Arundel County and seeks restoration and mitigation.

Earlier this year, Governor O’Malley and the Maryland General
Assembly strengthened Maryland's Critical Area law to ensure more
adequate protection of the most environmentally sensitive and significant
lands within Maryland's Chesapeake and Coastal Bays watersheds.
The new law gives the Critical Area Commission authority to pursue
violations of the Critical Area law. This lawsuit is the first
such action under the new law which went into effect July 1, 2008.

“
We cannot ignore the blatant violations of the Critical Area law
on Little Dobbins Island and excuse them after the fact,” said
Attorney General Gansler. “Today’s lawsuit on behalf
of the Critical Area Commission seeks removal of the illegally
built structures and restoration of Little Dobbins Island. Enforcing
the laws to protect the Magothy River and the Chesapeake Bay
is our top priority.”

Mr. Wagner, an experienced registered homebuilder in Maryland,
and his company built a home, gazebo, boat ramp, driveway, sidewalks,
sheds, pool, deck and patio, increasing the impervious surface
on Little Dobbins Island by more than 6,000 square feet. Grading
and disturbance of as much as 31,000 square feet resulted in the
removal and clearing of a considerable number of trees and natural
vegetation from Little Dobbins Island within the Critical Area
buffer.

“
Action to reverse the harm caused by this egregious violation of
the law is long over due," said Critical Area Commission Chair
Margaret G. McHale. "Requiring restoration and mitigation
for the irresponsible development on Little Dobbins Island is
the best way to put an end to this long, drawn-out situation
and achieve
meaningful benefits for the wildlife, fish, and people who call
the Magothy River home.”

The complaint alleges violations of both the Anne Arundel County
Critical Area Program and the state law and seeks to require
Mr. Wagner and DCW Dutchship Island LLC to remove the illegally
built
structures and restore and mitigate according to plans approved
under Anne Arundel County’s Critical Area Program.